At least 41 people have been killed in a series of bomb blasts across Iraq. Most of the deaths occurred in Mosul, where a suicide bomber blew up a lorry at a police station. A suicide car bomber killed another 12 people in Kirkuk, while bombers also struck in Khalis and Baghdad. US military spokesman Maj Gen William Caldwell said there was a 22% rise in attacks in the capital during the Muslim festival of Ramadan. Gen Caldwell said the increase was "disheartening", adding that a two-month campaign against insurgents in the city had "not met our overall expectations". Meanwhile US President George W Bush has said that the surge in violence in Iraq may be equivalent to America's traumatic experience in the Vietnam War. ... http://news.bbc.co.uk

A fundraiser for Gov. Rod Blagojevich who missed arraignments on federal fraud and extortion charges last week was arrested Thursday at O'Hare International Airport, officials said. FBI agents picked up Antoin "Tony" Rezko without incident, said Randall Samborn, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office. Rezko, 51, failed to show up at two arraignments last Friday. Defense attorney Joseph J. Duffy had told the court that the indictments, unsealed Oct. 11, surprised Rezko and that he was out of the country. Prosecutors had questioned whether he intended to return from the trip, but government officials said Thursday they believed he had been overseas. Rezko, who has been described by Blagojevich as a friend as well as a fundraiser, was to appear Thursday afternoon on charges that he fraudulently obtained $10 million in loans from General Electric Capital Corp. ...http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=2587718

An American citizen facing a death sentence in Iraq lost a court challenge Thursday that would have prohibited the military from turning him over to Iraqi authorities.Mohammad Munaf was convicted and sentenced to death by an Iraqi judge last week on charges he helped in the 2005 kidnapping of three Romanian journalists in Baghdad.Munaf, who was born in Iraq and became an American citizen in 2000, sought an emergency order blocking U.S. military officials from turning him over to Iraq. He claimed his trial was flawed and his confession was coerced.Those would normally be grounds for American citizens to challenge their imprisonment. But U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth said he had no authority to intervene because Munaf was being held by coalition military forces, not by the U.S. military alone....http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/special_packages/iraq/15798715.htm

Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo has declared a state of emergency in Ekiti State, following the impeachment of the local governor for corruption. Mr Obasanjo said he was taking action because the governor's sacking had been unconstitutional, and to prevent Ekiti descending into chaos. Both the chief justice and the attorney-general have said Ayo Fayose's sacking was illegal. Political tension is rising in Nigeria, ahead of elections next year. Mr Fayose has denied reports that he had fled the country, saying he was in hiding because he feared for his life but remained governor. His deputy Biodun Olujimi, who was also impeached, says she is now acting governor, although the state assembly has installed former speaker Friday Aderemi. ...http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6065188.stm

Landmines and cluster munitions are continuing to kill and injure between three and four civilians in Lebanon each day, a campaign group has said. Landmine Action is calling for an international ban on the weapons. The UN estimates that there may be as many as one million unexploded cluster bomblets in south Lebanon, fired by Israel during the month-long conflict. US-based group Human Rights Watch says Hezbollah also used cluster bombs, a claim rejected by a Hezbollah MP. Hassan Hoballah told the BBC the accusations were false. "We did not use these bombs. We don't have them. And we reject the use of these bombs anywhere in the world because they hurt civilians, especially when dropped on residential areas. Our stance is consistent. It can never change," he said. ...http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6065574.stm

The two-month-old U.S.-Iraqi bid to crush violence in the Iraqi capital has not met "overall expectations," as attacks in Baghdad rose by 22 percent in the first three weeks of Ramadan, the U.S. military spokesman said Thursday.The spike in bloodshed during the Islamic holy month of fasting was "disheartening" and the Americans were working with Iraqi authorities to "refocus" security measures, Maj. Gen. William B. Caldwell said."In Baghdad, Operation Together Forward has made a difference in the focus areas but has not met our overall expectations in sustaining a reduction in the level of violence," Caldwell said at a weekly news briefing.The gloomy assessment of the operation, which began Aug. 7 with the deployment of an extra 12,000 U.S. and Iraqi troops, was issued at a time of perceived tension between the United States and the nearly five-month-old government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki....http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/10/19/ap/world/mainD8KRPP801.shtml